Drawn Toward the Center - Desire opens the door

Drawn toward the Center: Desire opens the door Sunday, January 18, 2026 Pastor Hannah Witte hannah.witte@a2communitychurch.org Bounded set - clarifies & simplifies things There is a specific, clear thing to do to gain entry into a community Who gets an invite to a family reunion? Who is a part of a particular class at a grade school? Centered set - useful for questions with intangible answers About the direction you’re facing & where you’re moving Who’s an artist? or Who’s an apprentice of Jesus? Paul Hiebert - creator of centered set Who gets to be a part of God’s family? → Jesus’ life & ministry tell us: Anyone who wants to be. We’ll walk through parts of Luke and ask: What kind of community (village) did Jesus create? Luke 5:29-30 - Matthew held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Matthew’s fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them. But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?” Why does Jesus share an intimate meal with people who do things I despise? Luke 6:14-16 - Jesus called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. Why is Jesus asking me to align myself with people who make choices I despise? Luke 7:39 - When the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is – that she is a sinner.” Why is Jesus welcoming, honoring someone who makes choices I despise? Luke 10:39 - Mary sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he said. Why is Jesus letting her in? Luke 15:1-2 - Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! When it comes to who gets to be a part of the family of faith, gets an invite to the family reunion, human love has a bound, Jesus’ love has no bounds. “Let the little kids come to me, don’t get in their way, the kingdom of God belongs to them.” (paraphrase of Luke 18:16) Luke 23:42 - “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom” This man didn’t… pray sinner’s prayer, get baptized, join a Bible study, speak in tongues, This unnamed man saw something beautiful in Jesus and just wanted to be with him; he didn’t even ask for Jesus to change his awful circumstances. And Jesus says simply, today you’ll be with me in paradise. Jesus’ desire is that all people, everywhere would know, enjoy and trust him forever. So he is delighted when anyone wants to come close to him. He’ll eat at any dinner table he’s invited to. Not saying: Sin doesn’t matter Truth doesn’t exist Discipleship is easy Avoid hard conversations “If we care for the Beloved Community, we must move our feet, our hands, our hearts, our resources to build and not to tear down, to reconcile and not to divide, to love and not to hate, to heal and not to kill.” - John Lewis In the beloved community, fear grows small and love grows deep. Practical tips as we live out being a centered set church… Take relational risks and invest in this community Keep this question in your back pocket: Could you tell me more?